THAILAND LIVE Thailand Live Friday 17 Feb 2017

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PM appoints new mayor for Pattaya

 

 

Pattaya city councillor Pol Maj-Gen Anant Charoenchasri was Thursday appointed the new Pattaya mayor by Prime Minister Prayut Chan-ocha, invoking his special powers vested by Section 44 of the interim constitution.

 

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/969200-pm-appoints-new-mayor-for-pattaya/

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Kuwaiti stabs his friend in Pattaya Family Mart violence

 

Picture: Daily News

 

PATTAYA: -- Two drunk Kuwaiti friends started fighting in a South Pattaya Family Mart convenience store yesterday resulting in an 18 year being stabbed.

 

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/969224-kuwaiti-stabs-his-friend-in-pattaya-family-mart-violence/

 

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Thai wife arrives too late to save Austrian man

 

Picture: Thairath

 

UDON THANI: -- An Austrian man's Thai wife who had arranged to go with him on a visa run turned up at his place and found him dead from an apparent heart attack.

 

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/969225-thai-wife-arrives-too-late-to-save-austrian-man/

 

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Ex-US serviceman found dead in room surrounded by cash and valuables

 

Picture: Morning News

 

PRACHUAP KHIRI KHAN: -- A former US soldier was found dead in his rented room in Prajuab Khirikhan town yesterday.

 

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/969226-ex-us-serviceman-found-dead-in-room-surrounded-by-cash-and-valuables/

 

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Foreign "spy" used in sting operation that nabs Thai woman offering underage girls

 

Picture: Daily News

 

PATTAYA: -- A foreign "spy" operative was used by Region 2 police to trap a Thai woman who was offering underage girls for sex in Pattaya.

 

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/969227-foreign-spy-used-in-sting-operation-that-nabs-thai-woman-offering underage-girls-in-pattaya/

 

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RTN told to submit submarine acquisition plan to cabinet this month

 

 

BANGKOK: -- Defence Minister Prawit Wongsuwan has sent a signal to the Royal Thai Navy to submit to the cabinet this month its proposal to purchase a submarine from China otherwise it will miss out from the deliberations of this fiscal year’s budget.

 

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/969228-rtn-told-to-submit-submarine-acquisition-plan-to-cabinet-this-month/

 

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Srisuwan wants ethics panel to investigate 7 lawmakers

 

 

BANGKOK: -- Thai Constitution Protection Association secretary-general Srisuwan Janya said Thursday that he would ask the ethics committee of the National Legislative Assembly to investigate seven assemblymen for frequenting missing assembly meetings.

 

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/969229-srisuwan-wants-ethics-panel-to-investigate-7-lawmakers/

 

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Dhammachayo evades capture
By THE NATION

 

A senior Department of Special Investigation official briefs the media about yesterday’s operation, showing a large satellite image of the temple compound.

 

Authorities plan to resume search in |more areas of Dhammakaya Temple today

 

BANGKOK: -- AUTHORITIES yesterday failed to find wanted former abbot Phra Dhammachayo during a large-scale search of the scandal-hit Dhammakaya Temple in Pathum Thani.

 

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/969230-dhammachayo-evades-capture/
 

 

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Public voices skepticism about intentions of raid
By ANAN WICHITPRACHA, 
PONGSATHAT RUJIPHUTTANYAPHAT
THE NATION
PATHUM THANI

 

Under the close watch of officials, hundreds of Dhammakaya Temple followers take part in prayers outside the compound after being prevented from entering.

 

Pathum Thani residents protest; social media flooded with cynicism

 

BANGKOK: -- AS 300 crowd-control police officers camped outside Dhammakaya Temple’s Gate 7 yesterday morning, parents sending children to a nearby kindergarten complained that they had been initially blocked from reaching the school.

 

Full story:  http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/969231-public-voices-skepticism-about-intentions-of-dhammakaya-temple-raid/

 

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Pheu Thai Party still waiting for authorities’ invitation to reconciliation talks
By KASAMAKORN CHANWANPEN,
PRAPHAN JINDALERTUNDOMDEE
THE NATION

 

Phumtham (courtesy of Facebook page : Phumtham Wechayachai)

 

BANGKOK: -- THE PHEU Thai Party has not yet received a request to attend the invitation-only reconciliation talks which kicked off on Tuesday, despite authorities’ claims of inclusiveness and assurance that all 70 parties had been invited.

 

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/969232-pheu-thai-party-still-waiting-for-authorities’-invitation-to-reconciliation-talks/

 

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Final decision expected today on Krabi coal-fired power plant
By PRATCH RUJIVANAROM
THE NATION

 

 

EGAT insists diverse energy portfolio is needed, overriding environmental issues

 

KRABI: -- THE FINAL decision on the Krabi coal-fired power plant will be made today amid an uproar about the value of the plant and Thailand’s future energy policy.

 

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/969233-final-decision-expected-today-on-krabi-coal-fired-power-plant/

 

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NRSA reform committee at loggerheads over media council
By THE NATION

 

Kanit Suwannet when receiving petition from media organizations regarding the draft media regulation bill

 

BANGKOK: -- THE MEDIA reform committee has failed to reach a decision on the controversial composition of the media council stipulated in the new draft media regulation bill.

 

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/969235-nrsa-reform-committee-at-loggerheads-over-media-council/

 

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Ageing society guides design focus that meets seniors’ needs 
By SOMLUCK SRIMALEE
THE NATION

 

Single detached house at Grand Bangkok Boulevard -Sukhumvit by SC Asset Corporation Plc that designs to serve with aging family member. For example, the shock absorption floor, eldercare solution, and etc.

 

BANGKOK: -- RESIDENTIAL DESIGN that serves the needs of an increasingly ageing society is seen as an important and growing trend for developers in the years ahead, as nearly one-third of the Thai population will be over 60 by 2031, according to the Office of the National Economic and Social Development Board.

 

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/969236-ageing-society-guides-design-focus-that-meets-seniors’-needs /

 

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Forest reform proposal merits our full attention
By PIYAPORN WONGRUANG
THE NATION

 

Maewong National Park.

 

BANGKOK: -- Alarmed by the steep decline in Thailand’s forest cover, reformers have drafted proposals for remedial action. A few weeks ago, the National Reform Steering Assembly’s natural resources sub-panel completed a 250-page proposal, which has been submitted to the NRSA for endorsement.

 

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/969237-forest-reform-proposal-merits-our-full-attention/

 

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UPDATE:

 

Prayuth's brother a no show on legislature, collects salary anyway

By Sasiwan Mokkhasen, Staff Reporter

 

Prayuth Chan-ocha poses for photo with his brother Preecha Chan-ocha on Sept. 28, 2016, at Government House

 

BANGKOK — Members of the National Legislative Assembly voted 453 times on resolutions in a six-month period last year; however, the brother of junta chairman Prayuth Chan-ocha, who receives a sizeable salary, has only done so six of those times.

 

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/969229-srisuwan-wants-ethics-panel-to-investigate-7-lawmakers/?do=findComment&comment=11628399

 

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Suicide attack on Pakistani shrine kills 72, claimed by Islamic State

By Syed Raza Hassan
REUTERS

 

FILE PHOTO: A woman clad in burqa walks in the hallway of the tomb of Sufi saint Syed Usman Marwandi, also known as Lal Shahbaz Qalandar, in Sehwan Sharif, in Pakistan's southern Sindh province, September 5, 2013. REUTERS/Akhtar Soomro/File Photo

 

KARACHI, Pakistan (Reuters) - A suicide bomber attacked a crowded Sufi shrine in southern Pakistan on Thursday, killing at least 72 people and wounding dozens more in the deadliest of a wave of bombings across the South Asian nation this week.

 

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/969239-suicide-attack-on-pakistani-shrine-kills-72-claimed-by-islamic-state/

 

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Baghdad car bomb kills 51 as Islamic State escalates insurgency

 

Smoke rises from the site of a suicide car bomb attack at a used cars dealers parking in Hayy al-Shurta, neighborhood in southern Baghdad, Iraq, February 16, 2017. REUTERS/Stringer

 

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - A car packed with explosives blew up on Thursday in southern Baghdad, killing at least 51 people and wounding 55, security and medical sources said, in the deadliest such attack in Iraq this year.

 

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/969240-baghdad-car-bomb-kills-51-as-islamic-state-escalates-insurgency/

 

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U.S. ambassador at U.N. says Trump supports two-state solution

By Ned Parker

REUTERS

 

Newly appointed U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley makes a statement upon her arrival at U.N. headquarters in New York City, NY, U.S. January 27, 2017. REUTERS/Mike Segar

 

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley said on Thursday the United States still supports a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, a day after President Donald Trump suggested he is open to new ways to achieve peace.

 

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/969242-us-ambassador-at-un-says-trump-supports-two-state-solution/

 

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Samsung chief Lee arrested in corruption investigation

By Hyunjoo Jin

REUTERS

 

Samsung Group chief, Jay Y. Lee, arrives at the office of the independent counsel in Seoul, South Korea, February 16, 2017. Koo Yoon-sung/News1 via REUTERS

 

SEOUL (Reuters) - Samsung Group chief Jay Y. Lee was arrested early on Friday over his alleged role in a corruption scandal that led parliament to impeach South Korean President Park Geun-hye, dealing a fresh blow to the world's biggest maker of smartphones.

 

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/969244-samsung-chief-lee-arrested-in-corruption-investigation/

 

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As talks falter, Moscow finds brokering Syria peace trickier than waging war

By Olzhas Auyezov

REUTERS

 

Participants of Syria peace talks attend a meeting in Astana, Kazakhstan February 16, 2017. REUTERS/Mukhtor

 

ASTANA (Reuters) - With its show of military force, Russia changed the tide of the Syrian civil war. It is finding the next phase -- brokering an end to the fighting -- a tougher proposition.

 

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/969245-as-talks-falter-moscow-finds-brokering-syria-peace-trickier-than-waging-war/

 

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Boozed up Brits brawl in Pattaya street after one tries to grab other’s girlfriend’s breasts

 

Video screenshot

 

PATTAYA: -- A pair of British men have been filmed brawling outside a bar in Pattaya during the early hours of Thursday morning.

 

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/969246-boozed-up-brits-brawl-in-pattaya-street-after-one-tries-to-grab-other’s-girlfriend’s-breasts/

 

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Trump's choice for national security adviser has turned down offer - sources

REUTERS

 

Vice Adm. Robert S. Harward, commanding officer of Combined Joint Interagency Task Force 435, speaks to an Afghan official during his visit to Zaranj, Afghanistan, in this January 6, 2011 handout photo. Sgt. Shawn Coolman/U.S. Marines/Handout via REUTERS

 

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump's choice for national security adviser, retired Vice Admiral Robert Harward, has turned down the offer, sources familiar with Harward's decision said on Thursday.

 

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/969247-trumps-choice-for-national-security-adviser-has-turned-down-offer-sources/

 

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Malaysia arrests third suspect in connection with murder of Kim Jong Nam

A woman who was detained at Kuala Lumpur airport, identified from CCTV footage at the airport and who was alone when she was apprehended, according to police in a statement, is seen circled in red in this still frame taken from video released February 16, 2017, showing CCTV footage courtesy of Star TV. MANDATORY CREDIT STAR TV Via REUTERS TV

 

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - Malaysian police on Thursday detained a third suspect in connection with the murder of Kim Jong Nam, the half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, an officer said.

 

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/968994-malaysia-detains-woman-over-murder-of-half-brother-of-north-korea-leader/#comment-11627313

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Europe must not bow to U.S. spending demands on NATO - EU's Juncker

REUTERS

 

European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker attends a debate on the priorities of the incoming Malta Presidency of the EU for the next six months at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France, January 18, 2017. REUTERS/Christian Hartmann

 

MUNICH, Germany (Reuters) - European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said on Thursday that Europe must not cave in to U.S demands to raise military spending, arguing that development and humanitarian aid could also count as security.

 

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/969248-europe-must-not-bow-to-us-spending-demands-on-nato-eus-juncker/

 

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Germany's Schaeuble says EU must assume more active global role

REUTERS

 

German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble attends a presentation of a newly designed 2-Euro coin at the Chancellery in Berlin, Germany February 10, 2017. REUTERS/Hannibal Hanschke

 

BERLIN (Reuters) - German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said on Friday the European Union must take on a bigger international role, saying the answer to crises from security to climate change, was to stick together and stop relying on the United States.

 

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/969250-germanys-schaeuble-says-eu-must-assume-more-active-global-role/

 

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Trump dismisses Russia controversy as 'scam' by hostile media

By Steve Holland and Roberta Rampton

REUTERS

 

U.S. President Donald Trump said it would be a "positive thing" to mend U.S.-Russia relations but says "fake reporting" by the "dishonest media" is making it harder to make a deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Rough Cut (no reporter narration).

 

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump dismissed a growing controversy about ties between his aides and Russia on Thursday as a "ruse" and "scam" perpetrated by a hostile news media, and denied any of his associates had contacts with Moscow before last year's election.

 

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/969252-trump-dismisses-russia-controversy-as-scam-by-hostile-media/

 

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Dtac to roll out Google’s new messaging service in Thailand

BY REUTERS 

 

Image: REUTERS/Francois Lenoir/File Photo

 

Telenor to roll out Google’s new messaging service in Asia, Europe

 

(Reuters) – Alphabet Inc’s Google said on Thursday it partnered with Telenor ASA to roll out Rich Communications Services (RCS), an upgraded messaging service, to the Norwegian telecoms company’s subscribers in Asia and Europe.

 

Full story: http://tech.thaivisa.com/dtac-to-roll-out-googles-new-messaging-service-in-thailand/19904/

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Tired of screen addicts, Vienna cafe says phone juice costs extra

 

The Hundertwasser House landmark, an apartment house designed by artist and architect Friedensreich Hundertwasser, with the "Terrassencafe im Hundertwasserhaus" is seen in Vienna, Austria, February 15, 2017. REUTERS/Heinz-Peter Bader

 

VIENNA (Reuters) - Grumpy waiter service is as traditional as apple strudel in Vienna, but a cafe in one of the city's most recognizable landmarks has caused disquiet with what seems to be an Austrian first: charging customers for charging their phones.

 

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/969258-tired-of-screen-addicts-vienna-cafe-says-phone-juice-costs-extra/

 

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Pink Floyd's Waters, Mason hope to delight fans, honour crews in new exhibit

REUTERS

 

Band members Nick Mason (L) and Roger Waters pose for photographers at a media event to promote "The Pink Floyd Exhibition: Their Mortal Remains", which will open in May 2017, in London, Britain, February 16, 2017. REUTERS/Neil Hall

 

LONDON (Reuters) - Pink Floyd co-founders Roger Waters and Nick Mason hope an exhibition in May documenting the rock band's 50 years in music will give fans a sense of their live work as well as honour those who helped fulfil their artistic vision.

 

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/969264-pink-floyds-waters-mason-hope-to-delight-fans-honour-crews-in-new-exhibit/

 

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Trump says he will unveil overhauled immigration order next week

By Ayesha Rascoe and Dan Levine

REUTERS

 

U.S. President Donald Trump takes questions during a news conference at the White House in Washington, U.S., February 16, 2017. REUTERS/Carlos Barria

 

WASHINGTON/SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday he will issue a new executive order to replace his controversial directive suspending travel to the United States by citizens of seven mostly Muslim countries.

 

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/969268-trump-says-he-will-unveil-overhauled-immigration-order-next-week/